Sara Lee’s 3rd-quarter profit falls on consumer pullback; adjusted results top Wall Street

Sara Lee’s 3Q profit falls 22 percent

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — Food maker Sara Lee says its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 22 percent as sales dropped on a consumer spending pullback and the stronger dollar. Adjusted results beat analysts’ estimates.

The maker of Jimmy Dean sausages earned $165 million, or 24 cents per share. That’s down from $211 million, or 30 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding a tax adjustment, profit was 25 cents per share. Analysts had expected 18 cents per share.

Downers Grove, Ill.-based Sara Lee Corp. says sales slid nearly 7 percent to $3.03 billion on the stronger dollar and weakness in its North American foodservice division.

It also raised the lower end of its full-year earnings outlook to a range of 73 cents to 79 cents per share, from 72 cents to 79 cents per share.